Salome

Orgun... What do you think of the mask as an acessory?

Aniseteph

Hmm.. fantastic moves but doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. I found him a bit scary (possibly the effect he was after of course!). Loved the wiggly finger bit though
So I was going to write that I prefer male dancers with a bit more interaction with the audience (loved Asi on one of the other threads )- then cringed at myself and thought am I being horribly sexist? But when I think about it, I like exactly the same thing in female dancers, and a mask puts up a barrier.
Though I did see a (female) dancer do a masked number once. It was a slightly tongue-in-cheek number to what I think was a 1950's pop song, and the music sort of got past the barrier of the mask, so it worked very well.

da Sage

Maybe he wants people to focus on his amazing controlled moves first, instead of the fact that he looks like a happily tripping John Malkovich (later when he takes off the mask).

I'm not trying to be rude here, just trying to describe how I see his apparently unrestrained facial expressions, and general look. I actually think he's hot, and I totally want to steal his moves. The site said he's "inspiring", and I completely agree.

edit: I think the mask works well to focus the audience on his technique, but it would not work for a less dynamic performer, or choreography.

Selkie

I love Orgun! He's such an interesting dancer, so flexible and so theatrical with his tricks. I think the mask goes well with such theatrical dance. Its flamboyant dancing and needs flamboyant costume details and a mask certainly is flamboyant I saw a dance show a few weeks ago where the dancers wore cat-masks for one number, gold cat-masks with gold coin-scarves, black everywhere else. Very effective and striking and I kept thinking "Now *this* belongs in 'Cats'!" (Belly dance is much more effectively feline than tap-dance XD) I don't think a mask would work well in any other context, like a classical dance. That said, if I were designing a flamboyant costume for myself and wanted to cover my face for added drama, I would prefer to choose a mask over a face veil. I would be much too afraid of offending any Muslim audience by wearing a face veil, who might think I was mocking the niqaab.

Aniseteph

Very good point - tripping JM apart, I wonder if it stops some of the audience doing the OMG-it's-a-man-doing-bellydance bit until after he's impressed them with his awesome moves. Clever...

Shanazel

Masks are okay for Carnivale, Mardi Gras, or specialty dances, but I don't like them for belly dance. A veil is still fluid, even when it hides most of one's face. The mask is a dead spot. It creeps me out, quite frankly, but then I've always been half scared of clowns, too.

Moon

I don't like the mask.

Salome

Personally I find the mask a bit off putting.

Aisha Azar

Dear Salome and Group,
I would say that this guy is not a belly dancer, but a person who has mastered some belly dance movement and interspurses it with gimmicks, of which the mask is just one more. Most of his movement was WAY over done, even for Turkish I think. We could rather rudely refer to his act as "parlor tricks". It's too bad because he probably could be a fantastic dancer if he so chose.
Regards,
A'isha

Maria_Aya

I agree with Aisha Azar on all her coments
Just to add, that I know also, from who he have stole the 80% of his choreo's!!!
Maria Aya